The British Isles were in the height of summer, and during the long, sun-drenched days, there was nothing more delightful than eating a huge serving of ice cream.
In Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley, two heirs of wealthy families each had a generous portion of irresistibly tempting ice cream set in front of them.
Under the bright sunlight and a large sun umbrella, Eda was flipping through a copy of Today's Transfiguration.
Although the once-poor girl had turned her life around, Eda did not wear flashy rings on all ten fingers, nor did she flaunt her wealth everywhere like Malfoy did—that was far too low-class and didn't fit her elegant persona.
Of course, if someone with a discerning eye happened to pass by, they would be able to tell from Eda's long dress alone that this girl was either rich or noble.
Sitting opposite Eda, Harry—also an heir of a wealthy family—looked anything but elegant.
He scratched his head while writing his History of Magic essay, and the ice cream in front of him had already begun to melt.
This holiday, Harry had truly been let loose.
He woke up whenever he wanted, did whatever he pleased, and had essentially turned into a Diagon Alley loafer. With only the last day of vacation remaining, he still hadn't finished his summer homework.
Harry's already messy hair was scratched into even more chaos, and he finally had to ask for outside help. He asked, "Eda, what year was the International Confederation of Wizards meeting again?"
"1289. A special delegation composed of Sardinian wizards participated in the conference...…" Eda replied without even lifting her head. If Harry were to open A History of Magic, he would find that Eda's answer matched the original text word for word.
The customers around them would occasionally show each other what they had bought, or discuss the case of Sirius Black.
And when they noticed the two students, Eda and Harry, they would deliberately lower their voices and say, "Personally speaking, until he's back in Azkaban, I won't let my children go out alone."
After returning to London, since the Weasley family hadn't yet come back from Egypt, Eda had no choice but to stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Coincidentally, the "rebellious runaway teenager" Harry was staying there as well, so Eda promptly grabbed him and dragged him along on shopping trips.
There was no helping it—Fred and George weren't around, and the naturally lazy Eda was short of someone to carry her bags!
The task thus fell, with great honor, onto the boy who lived.
Did Harry have a choice? Not at all. But as compensation, Eda not only treated him to a huge serving of ice cream, she also gave him an exquisite orrery model of the planetary system—a set Harry had been coveting for a long time.
"What are we going to eat later?" Harry asked after finally finishing that essay. He felt his stomach was already growling.
What to eat was always a serious question.
Hmmm.....
To show proper respect for it, Eda closed Today's Transfiguration in her hands. After thinking for a while, she still couldn't decide what to eat—British cuisine really wasn't worth mentioning.
"Eda! Eda!"
"Harry! Harry!"
Eda and Harry turned around and saw the twins along with Ron and Hermione waving at them from across the street.
The four of them walked over. As soon as Ron arrived, he began showing off his new wand. Hermione, meanwhile, was carrying a bulging book bag—the young girl had signed up for every single course, a truly impressive move.
Fred and George carefully looked Eda over. Seeing that she hadn't lost any weight—in fact, she'd even put on a little—they finally felt relieved.
With a grand wave of their hands, the twins ordered four more servings of ice cream. Mm… Eda was paying the bill.
After finishing the ice cream, everyone split up. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were heading to the pet shop. Hermione wanted to buy a pet, while Ron needed to get some medicine for his rat—Scabbers had been looking half-dead all summer.
Eda wandered aimlessly along Diagon Alley with the twins, a snack in her hand. The snacks in the twins' hands were hers as well.
Before long, the three of them drifted over to the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop.
A crowd had gathered in front of the display window, and this situation had been going on for nearly a week. With a spectacle like that, why not take a look?
Eda and the twins squeezed past the excited men and women to see what was being displayed in the window.
The Firebolt—the best broom on the market, and also the most expensive one. The words "price upon request" alone were enough to deter many people.
Fred and George were staring so hard their eyes were practically glued in place, their looks even more fervent than when they watched Madam Rosmerta. Much like how many Muggle boys adore sports cars, the Firebolt had an irresistible magic that men simply couldn't resist.
When one grows rich, do not forget one's friends. Parting the crowd, Eda headed into the shop, wanting to see just what kind of "price upon request" really meant.
Eda's movement finally snapped the twins back to their senses. The two brothers grabbed her, and Fred asked, "Don't you already have a Nimbus Two Thousand? Why are you going into the shop?"
"It says 'price upon request,' doesn't it? How am I supposed to ask about the price if I don't go inside?" Eda said matter-of-factly. "Malfoy may have a nasty mouth, but he's not wrong—the Nimbus Five series really is too old. It's just the right time to switch to the latest Firebolt."
"Are you crazy?!" George grabbed Eda's arm. "We know the Rosier family is rich, but even if you have money, you can't just spend it like this! You'll leave your grandmother with the impression that you're a spendthrift!"
Out of nowhere, Eda had gained a French grandmother who was incredibly wealthy, and Eda was her only heir. Even so, the twins couldn't let her spend money so recklessly.
How many pure-blood families had fallen in the end because they never learned restraint?
A spendthrift who squanders the family fortune is never someone people like.
A spendthrift? Eda felt rather wronged. Even without Vinda appearing and the family suddenly "having a mine at home," she had already planned to give the twins a broom each.
At the time, though, her targets had been the Nimbus Two Thousand or the Nimbus Two Thousand and One—both models priced within what she could afford. Only after having her grandmother Vinda as backing did Eda turn her gaze to the newly released Firebolt.
The blood tie allowed Eda to use [Straight to the Heart] on her grandmother, and Vinda's deepest wish was to find her and watch over her as she grew up.
This was also why Eda had accepted this grandmother so readily, without the slightest doubt.
Seeing that Eda was still stubbornly edging toward the shop, Fred and George had no choice but to take drastic measures. The two brothers worked in perfect coordination: one restrained Eda, while the other hoisted her up and ran, sprinting all the way back to the Leaky Cauldron.
Not even Eda's wailing cries of "I'm not buying it, can't I just look?" could stop them. Their behavior was simply outrageous and beyond reproach.
If the owner of the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop had known what the twins did, he would definitely have beaten the two of them to death.
Pedestrians along the way scattered to avoid being clipped by the twins as they charged past. After the twins had run by, people even muttered, "Moral decay, the world has gone cold—broad daylight and someone's already abducting a young lady!"
It wasn't until they ran into Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in the Leaky Cauldron that Fred and George finally put Eda down.
By then, Eda's face was pale—she had nearly been shaken sick along the way.
"Is this appropriate? Is this appropriate? Is this appropriate?" Mr. Weasley scolded the twins. "Eda is a girl—what do you think you're doing, treating her like that?!"
Mrs. Weasley smoothed Eda's wind-tousled hair while chiming in, "If I ever see you being this rough again, I'll break both your legs!"
"It's not like that—we can explain," Fred said. "This time it's entirely Eda's fault."
"What do you mean 'not like that'!" Mrs. Weasley smacked Fred on the back. "No matter what happened, you cannot carry Eda back like she's a doll!"
Seeing his twin brother suffer such "cruel treatment," George immediately spoke up in explanation. "It really was Eda—she's gone mad. She actually wanted to buy the two of us Firebolts!"
"Even if you were going to buy Firebolts, you still shouldn't—" Mr. Weasley suddenly stopped. "Wait. Buy the two of you what?"
"Firebolts," George and the battered Fred said in unison. "The most expensive broom on the market—price upon request."
Mr. Weasley turned to look at the utterly innocent-faced Eda, and Mrs. Weasley stopped chasing Fred. The couple shifted targets and began lecturing Eda together.
However, since Eda was a girl, Mrs. Weasley did not treat her the same way she treated the thick-skinned Fred.
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